Into the Stars
by ChocoBanana Parfait
Summary: "Don't you think that this is at least a little bit romantic, being among the stars?" "Bah, whatever."


Fluff ahead! And slight OOC-ness at the end.  
Stuff in italics are thoughts.

Disclaimer- Star Ocean 3 belongs to tri-Ace

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She didn't know how they came to be together or what series of events led up to this, but she was standing next to Albel the Wicked in Moonbase, staring out a window at the sea of stars before them. There was no playful banter, no name-calling, or any conversation at all- they were just standing in the dark with the moon as the only source of light filtering in through the glass windows.

Nel glanced over at Albel, trying to discern whether he was annoyed with something and wanted to vent at her, or if he found out about Nel's little crush on him. _'It wouldn't be surprising though, the way Peppita practically shouts it to the rest of the world.'_ He just kept staring out the window, not noticing or caring about Nel's silent observation. She got tired of just standing around, so she decided to break the silence.

"It's amazing, isn't it, to be out here among the stars. If anyone told me before that I'd be up here, I would've thought they were crazy."

"Hmph. I would've thrown them straight into the dungeons for being so ridiculous." Nel gave him a light punch and he smirked before settling into silence again.

Nel leaned her forehead against the glass before talking again. "It's also kind of romantic, don't you think?"

Albel let out a small chuckle. "So even Nel Zelpher has sappy, girly thoughts? Shocking."

This time, Nel gave a small kick to his shins ("Curses woman, why'd you have to kick me!"). "I'll have you know Nox, that almost every woman had romantic dreams when they were little girls. Just because I don't think about it all the time now doesn't mean I never thought about it before."

Albel was still nursing his shin. "I just didn't know that you thought about romance, I thought all you cared about was your work and your duty to protect your Queen. You don't seem to try to find romance or love at all." He leaned his back against the window and looked into her eyes.

Nel sighed. "It's true that I focus more on my job, but once in a while, I think that it would be nice if I had a significant other." She was proud that she was a strong soldier and independent, and she was happy that she got admiration from her subordinates and from citizens. But sometimes, when she saw how Sophia lit up when Fayt sat next to her and how Cliff and Mirage seemed to communicate with each other through small glances without speaking out loud, Nel thought that she would like to have someone who made her feel special and who she could depend on without words, but just trust in them. "I don't know how my relationship would work while I'm serving the Queen." _'I don't know if you'd even want to be in a relationship with me.'_

"Your father managed to raise a family while he was still in the army."

"My father also died in the line of duty."

"Hmm, I guess so. But, even for a little bit, he still managed to have a family."

"I guess you're right." Nel finally turned to meet Albel's gaze. She wanted to change the subject, feeling a little uncomfortable talking about raising families with him. "But enough about that. Don't you think that this is at least a little bit romantic, being among the stars?"

He turned to look out the window again. "Bah, whatever."

After that, Nel didn't know what came over her. Maybe it was because they were talking about romance, maybe it was because Albel didn't call her 'fool' or 'worm' because of her questions, or maybe it was because Nel's crush and girly side were going crazy right now. Whatever it was, she walked right up to Albel and held his face in her hands.

And then she tip-toed a bit to place a light kiss on the corner of his lips.

They both stood frozen for a moment, just looking at each other with wide eyes. As Albel was opening his mouth to say something, Nel's mind and body finally reacted to the situation. She stepped back from him, threw the curtain between them so that he couldn't see her, and she ran.

_'Oh my Apris, I can't believe I just did that. Why in Apris' name did I do that? To Albel! Oh Apris, just kill me now!'_ Nel's mind was in a flurry of thoughts, but she still heard the sound of footsteps rushing after her.

Nel started to run into a sprint from an adrenaline rush, and Albel ran right behind her. She dodged through hallways trying to lose him._ 'Oh Apris, he probably thinks I'm crazy and now he's trying to kill me!'_ She took a quick glance behind her, and to her surprise she saw that Albel didn't have his sword out. Instead, he had a full grin on his face and it seemed as if he was enjoying running after her. Nel's body relaxed slightly, and her adrenaline from fear turned into excitement.

They ran for what felt like hours, zipping through halls, jumping onto ledges and beams scattered throughout Moonbase, and enjoying the rush of the chase. There were a few times when it looked like Albel caught Nel, but she would giggle and escape from his grasp somehow. Nel didn't focus on her surroundings while she ran- she felt giddy, she felt Albel's presence behind her, and all she saw was scattered moonlight from the windows and flashes of stars around them. _'It's just me and him and the stars, I think this is pretty damn romantic right now.'_

They ran into a huge, empty room with walls made entirely of glass. The view of all the stars at once made Nel dizzy, so she stopped running and Albel stopped behind her. They stood to catch their breaths and regain their composure from the exercise. "Well Nox, was that romantic enough for you?"

He let out a small snort. "Zelpher, you have crazy ideas about romantic situations. I'll admit that it was romantic, but there's one thing you're missing to make it perfect."

"And what would that be?" Nel's eyes were full of curiosity and her voice sounded a little challenging.

Albel walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in close to his body. "I have to be holding the woman I love in my arms."

Nel's face turned as red as her hair and stared at Albel in shock for being so close to him. And did he just say 'the woman he loves'? _'Does that mean that he loves me?'_

She tried to say something, but her voice didn't seem to be working, which Albel didn't mind at all. He bent down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "When this is all over and we go back to Elicoor, you have to tell me about all the other romantic dreams you have. Maybe we could act out more of them."

The only response he got was Nel pulling his head down for another kiss.

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End note: Oh snap, Nel doesn't remember how she got there, maybe this is all a dream! (Inception reference XD;)


End file.
